Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchinni
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Grease 8x4x2 bread loaf pan
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In another medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, zucchini, oil, egg, lemon peel. Mix well.
4. Add dry mixture to zucchini mixture until moistened. Batter should be lumpy.
5. Add nuts (fold in).
6. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes for muffins.

Red Velvet Crep

recipe found here

Red Velvet Crepes
(Makes about 24, 8″ crepes)

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups butter milk
- 1 1/4 cup whole or lowfat milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon red food color gel
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
+ 2 tablespoons cooking oil (for pan)

*Update: Because the buttermilk lends to the acidity of this batter, do not substitute the baking soda for extra baking powder. If you add more baking powder, and omit the baking soda, you’ll end up with a heavy and dense crepe. In order to activate the baking soda, it requires an acidic substance, which the buttermilk provides. Double-acting baking powder (likely, this is what you have in your kitchen) is activated by heat and an acidic element, and in this case, baking soda does the trick. Enough with the chemistry lesson– just don’t make substitutes if you want light and fluffy crepes; the recipe is balanced to account for ingredient properties.

Mascarpone Cream Filling
- 500 mL heavy cream
- 300 gr mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 orange (optional, but adds nice tang)
+ 1/2 cup raspberry jam (optional, for filling crepes)

Chocolate Ganache Topping
- 75 gr bittersweet chocolate
- 75 mL heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:
For the Mascarpone Filling:
1. Using a mixer, mix mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla until soft and fluffy. Set aside.
2. Whip cream and remaining sugar to a stiff peak. Carefully fold into the mascarpone cheese until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For Chocolate Ganche Sauce
1. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small sauce pan, heat cream and sugar to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, and pour over chocolate. Carefully mix until homogenous, and set aside until ready to use. If the ganache sets, re-melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Red Velvet Crepes
1. In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, milk, egg, sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract and food coloring. Whisk until combined.

3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are combined. The batter will be a little runny (think soup). If you find that the batter is too thick and pancake like, add more milk (regular). Make sure the batter is clear of lumps.

4. With a pastry brush, brush the surface of large (non-stick) skillet with cooking oil. Heat it over medium heat. Test skillet after a couple of minutes by drizzling a few few drops of water onto the cooking surface. If the drops sizzle and evaporate, the surface is hot enough.

5. Turn the heat down to medium. For each crepe, spoon or ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the skillet. Holding onto the handle of the pan, remove it from the heat and swirl the pan so the batter coats the bottom of the pan. You want to make the coating as thin as possible. If you have holes in the crepe, go ahead and add more batter to the pan to cover them. Return to heat.

6. As the batter cooks, it will dry and lose its shine (~ 2 minutes). Once this happens, use a non-metal spatula and carefully flip the crepe over. Finish cooking the crepe on the other side (~ 45 seconds).

7. Gently slide the cooked crepe onto an ovenproof plate, and keep the finished crepes warm in an oven set at 195 degrees.

Assembling the Crepes:
- If using raspberry jam, place a small amount the center of the crepe. Pipe mascarpone cream filling, and carefully roll.

- Drizzle with chocolate ganache sauce and dust with icing sugar.

Dutch Apple Cake with Cider Sauce

Cake:
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup milk
3 apples, cored, peeled and sliced thin (Golden Delicious, Jonathon, Jonagold, or Gala work well)
cinnamon and sugar

Cider Sauce:
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups cider
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. butter

Directions:
1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease an 8x8x2-inch square-baking pan.

2. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about two minutes.

3. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat another two minutes.

4. With the mixer on low speed, add the baking powder and salt.

5. Slowly add the flour alternating with the milk and ending with the flour.

6. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

7. Place apples in an overlapping fashion in three or four rows on top of batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

8. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

9. For the Cider Sauce: Stir together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.

10. Stir in the cider. Cook until mixture comes to a boil.

11. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and butter. Serve warm over cake slices.

Twix Cheesecake

Twix Cheesecakes
June 30, 2011 57 Comments

In my humble opinion, desserts and candy belong together. Butterfingers make cupcakes a little more intriguing, blondies filled with peanut butter cups are even more irresistible, gummy worms taste better when they’re coming out of a cupcake and Twix in cheesecake….well that just makes me drool. How can I not drool when one of my favorite desserts, mini cheesecakes, are combined with my #3 favorite candy in the entire universe? Yes my friends, Twix are my #3 favorite candy. By the way if you’re curious, Butterfingers are #1 and Baby Ruth’s are #2. Now on with this candy filled recipe!

First make the crust for the mini cheesecakes. In a food processor, grind up 1/2 package of Oreos. I love Oreos just in case it wasn’t completely obvious. :)

Add 1 Tablespoon of sugar and mix it up.

Pour in 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter and stir to coat all of the cookie crumbs with butter. Butter makes everything better.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Scoop 1 Tablespoon of cookie crumbs into each cupcake liner.

Press the crumbs down firmly with your hands. Set the cupcake pan aside while you make the cheesecake batter.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix 1 pound of softened cream cheese until smooth. Then pour in 1/2 cup sugar. Mix on medium low speed.

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix mix!

Whisk 2 eggs and slowly pour them in while the mixer is on low speed. Then add in 1/2 cup sour cream and mix.

Set the bowl aside while you chop up the Twix bars. Mmm Twix how I love you.

Take 12 mini Twix bars and chop each one up into small pieces like so.

Throw them into the bowl.

Carefully fold them in. I could just bathe in that cheesecake batter. Actually I could bathe in all cheesecake batter.

Take an ice cream scooper and scoop the cheesecake batter into each cupcake liner.

Bake the cheesecakes at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. Now here comes the hard part, chill the cheesecakes in the refrigerator overnight. Yes we must wait overnight. A shame isn’t it? But oh so worth it.

Then devour the cheesecakes and eat some extra Twix bars on the side.

Twix Cheesecakes

Crust
1/2 package Oreos
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Batter
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
12 mini Twix bars, chopped into small pieces

In a food processor, grind up the Oreos into fine crumbs. Put the crumbs into a large bowl and add in the sugar. Mix to combine. Then pour in the melted butter and mix to coat all of the crumbs with butter.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Scoop a Tablespoon of the cookie crumbs into each cupcake liner. Using your hand, press the crumbs down firmly. Set the cupcake pan aside while you work the cheesecake filling.
(Sometimes I have some cookie crumb mixture left over. So if you do too, don’t worry.)

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth on medium low speed, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium low speed, add in the sugar and mix to combine. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly pour in the lightly beaten eggs and mix until the eggs are incorporated. Add in the sour cream and combine.
Chop the mini Twix bars into small pieces. Add them into the cheesecake batter and gently fold them in.

Using an ice cream scooper, scoop the cheesecake batter into each cupcake liner. Bake the cheesecakes at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. Chill the cheesecakes overnight in the refrigerator. Then enjoy!






This is what I use when I make cheesecake. It works wonderfully.

Grilled Potatoes with Green Onions

4 green onions
6 lg. potatoes
2 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat outdoor grill to high.

2. Microwave potatoes on high 5-8 minutes, until tender but firm. Cool and cut into cubes.

3. Place cubed potatoes on large piece of tin foil. Top with green onions. Dot with butter, and season with salt and pepper or another seasoning of choice.

4. Wrap foil tightly around potatoes and grill for 20-30 minutes until tender.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix
1 can Betty Crocker whipped fluffy white icing
24 cupcake wrappers
1 water, vegetable oil, & eggs called for on box
3 drops each red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple food coloring
12 quart size freezer bags
1/4 cup each red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple candy melts
1 wax paper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil and water. Mix well.

Divide batter into six quart freezer bags. Add 3 drops of food coloring into each bag so you have a bag of each color. Seal and squeeze bag to combine.

Cut a corner off each bag and pipe out about 2 tsp. of each color into muffin tins lined with cupcake wrappers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes, until done.

While cupcakes are baking, melt each color of candy melts in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Spoon each color candy melt into a quart freezer bag, snip of an end, and use to draw "rainbows" onto wax paper. Let set completely.

When cupcakes are cooled, frost with Betty Crocker fluffy white icing. Peel rainbows off wax paper and place on top to garnish.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs cold water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
8 skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently until sauce thickens and bubbles.

2. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

3. Place chicken in a 9x13 baking dish. Brush chicken with sauce. Turn pieces over and brush again.

4. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake 30 minutes until juices run clear. Brush chicken with sauce every ten minutes.

Rainbow Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 Cups graham crackers, crushed (crust)
2 Tablespoons sugar (crust)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (crust)
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon (crust)
1 Pinch Salt (crust)
2 Pounds Cream cheese, room temp
1 1/3 Cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
4 Large Eggs
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Pinch Salt
1 Container Food colors (blue, yellow, green, red)

Directions:
Before you get started with the crust, make sure your springform pan is water tight. I do this by carefully wrapping a few layers of foil on the outside of the pan, working in both directions so water cannot get into the pan. Be careful not to rip the foil or water will get into your cake and ruin it!

To make the crust, grind the graham crackers in a food processor until very fine. Then mix crushed crackers, salt, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then mix in butter with your clean fingers.

Press all but a few tablespoons of the graham cracker mixture into the prepared springform pan. (Save a bit of the crust mixture in case there are holes later) Press it down firmly in the pan. I like to use a measuring cup for this which makes it easy to get around the edges. You should have an even, flat crust.
# 4Bake the crust in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes on a low rack. Remove from the oven and cool completely before continuing. Turn oven temp down to 325.

To make filling, cut cream cheese into pieces and add to a mixing bowl. Whip until smooth, maybe 4 minutes. Then add sugar and continue to beat until smooth again, another 4-5 minutes. Next, add salt, vanilla, and one egg at a time, beating briefly between each egg. Finally, beat in the sour cream and heavy cream.

Once the mixture is well combined and very smooth, divide it into 6 dishes. Add food coloring to each dish to get the desired colors.

Pour colored mixtures into prepared dish with cooled crust. Start with red and pour it right in the center. Continue to build the rainbow by pouring the fillings directly in the center. This will create layers so that each slice has some of each color.

Place cheesecake into a baking dish a fill with boiling water about 1 inch up the side of the springform pan (pray that your dish is waterproof).

Bake at 325 degrees in the water bath for one hour and 45 minutes.

Turn off the oven, crack the door to the oven, and let the cake cool in the oven for one hour. The slow cooling will help it not crack.

Then loosely wrap the dish in foil so the foil isn't touching the top of the cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to remove cake, run a clean narrow knife around the edge of the dish, remove the foil, unlock the spring, and carefully lift off the outer ring.

Serve either alone or with a cherry/raspberry sauce. It's so rich and creamy that it really doesn't need a topping.